The latest instalment of Fox Sports’
hotly-anticipated ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ kicked off with a bang on September 9

th, and featured the
current FC Interim Featherwight Champion, Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor
against Urijah Faber, former holder of the coveted WEC Featherweight
Championship. They’ll both be coaching throughout this newest season of the hit
reality TV and combat sports mash up. McGregor has stated that he almost backed
out of the offer to be a part of Season 22 as filming duties clashed with his
fight schedule for the remainder of 2015, which will see him finally face off
against Jose Aldo.

Season 22 pits 16 hungry contenders from the
US against 16 from Europe in an elimination style series, which will follow the
trials and tribulations of each fighter as they battle to survive until the
final elimination show in December and go on to win a UFC contract in addition
to one million dollars.

The
Players

The full list of contenders was revealed at
the end of August, and you can find the entire list below:

United
States:

Andreas Quintana
(8-1) from Albuquerque, N.M.

Austin Springer
(8-0) from Portland, Ore.

Billy Quarantillo
(6-1) from Tampa, Fla.

Brandon Ricetti
(7-1) from Chico, Calif.

Brennan Sevin
(7-1) from Chauvin, LA.

Chris
Gruetzemacher (12-1) from Peoria, AZ

Jason Soares
(8-0) from Miami, Fla.

Johnny Nunez
(5-1) from Las Vegas, NV

James Jenkins
(8-1) from Long Island, NY

Jason Gonzalez
(9-2) from Colton, Calif.

Julian Erosa
(14-1) from Yakima, Wash.

Mike Flach (7-1)
from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Ryan Hall (4-1)
from Falls Church, VA

Thanh Le (4-1)
from New Orleans, LA

Tim Welch (12-5)
from Glendale, Ariz.

Tom Gallicchio
(19-8) from Perth Amboy, N.J.

Europe:

Artem Lobov
(11-10-1-1) from Dublin, Ireland

Abner Lloveras
(19-7-1) from Barcelona, Spain

David Teymur
(3-1) from Stockholm, Sweden

Djamil Chan
(19-2) from Amsterdam, Netherlands

Frantz Frank
Slioa (4-0) from Stockholm, Sweden

Marcin Wrzosek
(10-2) from Bydgoszcz, Poland

Martin Delaney
(10-1) from Bathgate, Scotland

Martin Svensson
(14-5) from Malmo, Sweden

Mehdi Baghdad
(11-3) from Toulon, France

Mohamed Grabinski
(10-1) from Dusseldorf, Germany

Paulo Boer
(10-1-1) from Holland

Sascha Sharma
(8-2) from Stuttgart, Germany

Saul Rogers
(10-1) from Bolton, England

Sean Carter
(10-1) from Essex, England

Thibault Gouti
(10-0) vs. Avignon, France

Vladimir Sikic
(10-0) from Frankfurt, Germany

Even if you’re
unable to recognise many, if not all of the names, this season promises to be
one of the most explosive it builds towards the December 11
th finale
on the eve of Mcgregor’s postponed meeting with Jose Aldo. To get you in the
mood we’ve included a video of the best fights in the Ultimate Fighter House
over the years:

Let us know about your favourite TUF
moments:

Were you one of
the millions who tuned in to watch the blockbuster season 1 fight between
Forrest Griffin and Stephen Bonnar? A fight which helped launch the PPV
business of the UFC and help legitimise the approach the company in the eyes of
the mainstream. The Ultimate Fighter continues to be a fantastic gateway for
casual fans looking to get more of a personal insight to the fighter’s in the
Octagon and Season 22 is shaping up to be the most anticipated in recent
history.